Nicki Minaj Unveils New Deluxe Album Cover: ‘There Is No Rap Or Pop For Me’

Nicki recently caught up with Vibe to dish on what to expect from her new album.

I’m not going to break my album down based on percentage of rap and singing. What it is, is amazing music. And what it is, is music that I created and I had a blast making and it’s going to be very free and exhilarating.
It’s going in a very free, exhilarating direction in terms of me owning who I am and me enjoying the process of making music. I think that when you get the album you’ll feel as if I had absolutely no boundaries. That’s probably the best way to explain it so that you understand. The album just has no boundaries. The album cannot be boxed in.
On what type of balance the album will have
You know what, I cannot break my album down into how the normal person like yourself would break an album down and say, well this is rap and this is pop. There is no rap or pop for me. It’s Nicki Minaj. It’s one collective body of amazing work. You’ll feel it. I don’t like the labels because sometimes just by one word or one label, a person can take that the wrong way and apply a negative spin to that. So I don’t give my music labels.

: Source

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Nicki Minaj Covers Vibe Magazine: ‘Proving Things To My Critics Is Over’

Nicki Minaj is in full promo mode this week for an album that was pushed back until April. On the day, her ‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded’ was originally scheduled to be released, she graces the cover of Vibe Magazine’s Feb/Mar 2012 issue wearing a Tiara. Inside, she reveals that recording her first album wasn’t as fun for her because she felt like she had something to prove. She also discussed being a woman in the industry as well as if she feels as though she’s been accepted in the fashion world after sitting next to Anna Wintour during Fashion Week.

Check out a few excerpts:

On recording Pink Friday
I felt like I had something to prove to everyone who said a female rapper could not make an album unless she was talking about her p-ssy. And so I went above and beyond to prove that I could not talk about sex and not talk about my genitalia and still have a successful album. And I proved that. And now my time for proving things to my critics is over. I don’t really need to prove anything to anyone else anymore.

On if it’s hard to get her way as a Woman In The Industry
It’s not hard to get your way when it’s your way or the highway. People either follow suit or they’re not around. I don’t really like the sound of that, ‘cause that sounds like a temper tantrum. I’m just very black and white when it comes to my business. There’s really no gray area. I really don’t have a lot of small talk with people I work with. It’s pretty much let’s get the job done. In the beginning, if people didn’t know me they’d probably assume I wasn’t smart or wasn’t business savvy. But once you sit and talk to me, it’s a different story.

On if she feels as though she’s been accepted into the Fashion World after sitting next to Anna Wintour during Fashion Week
Yeah, I realized more recently that even if it’s for a fashion magazine, I’m not gonna change who I am. When I was doing photo shoots last year, I kept on being told, “This is what we want your hair to look like and this is what we want you to look like,” and it really, really stifled my creativity. So the other day I was talking to a photographer, and he said, “You know what, I like your everyday looks so much better than when you do photo shoots for magazines.” And I was like, “So do I, you’re absolutely right.” I’d been getting more and more frustrated for a while.

But I’ve made up my mind that when you see a Nicki Minaj magazine cover from now on, it’s really going to reflect me and it’s going to be something that I creatively had a hand in, because I don’t have to do it anymore. I don’t have to do things just to please people. It’s okay to do what I love because what I love, my fans love. And they’re really the only ones that should matter. The fashion world will have to come to Nicki Minaj, as opposed to Nicki Minaj trying to go to the fashion world.

See More over at VIBE

Source

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Video: T.I. x VIBE Magazine Cover Shoot 2011

T.I. answers a few questions during his Vibe cover photo shoot.

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Lil Kim Says She's Working on New Music With Timbaland

While in Rochester, NY for a club appearance, Lil Kim spoke with 754 Media about her upcoming book and accompanying movie.

On the new book: "The book is called 'The Price Of Loyalty' and its strictly about my stint when I was in prison. What we're trying to do now, is whats taking so long, we’re trying to make a mini-movie to coincide with the book. That takes a while because you gotta greenlight it and all that stuff, you know, everything has to be done in moderation."

On who she has been working with: "Timbaland, he always been like family. He loves me, I love him, so we've been working. I got a song with Rockwilder." She continued on talking about collaborating with Wyclef. "It's so interesting, Wyclef gave me a joint thats just so crazy. It's stupid, I love it."VIA Vibe.com

She also hinted at working with Bangladesh and Ryan Leslie. Check out the interview below:

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T.I. Speaks On Tiny Not Taking A Drug Charge For Him

T.I. on people criticizing Tiny for not taking the drug charge

“I’ma tell you, 50 Cent and anybody else, we not gonn’a have no discussion about what my ole lady should’a, would’a, couda done for anything as it pertains to me,” begins his rant. “We ain’t gonn’a do that. I’m the only one in my family that’s gonna take a lick when it pertains to the legal system. Since me, none of my other family members have seen a jail cell. Nobody. I’m the last one. The buck stops here. I feel that a person that stands behind [his woman for a criminal charge] is a coward anyway.”

VIBE: I doubt she would have gotten any time.
T.I.: She wasn’t gonna catch it period, ’cause I’m there. That wasn’t even a consideration. Even if she asked me to I would’ve been like, “Nah, you trippin’. “

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Eminem & Yelawolf Cover December/January 2012 Vibe Cover

"With the release of his Radioactive album just a few days away, Yelawolf and his Shady Records boss Eminem graze the cover of the year end issue of Vibe. The other issue will be covered by T.I., and both magazines will hit shelves on December 6th. Below is an excerpt from the interview with Eminem & Yelawolf where they speak on their past history with drugs."

You mentioned getting yourself right. Are you completely clean these days as far as alcohol and drugs?
EM: Except for the heroin I shot up this morning. Except for that, I’m clean. [Laughs]

While you’re clean, Yelawolf here smokes weed and—
Yelawolf: No, I don’t. "

I hear that in your music a lot.
YW: I started smoking weed at 11. By 12, I was smoking dust. Thirteen, acid, Freon, special k, mushrooms; 16 years old, I was selling X pills at school. Not even because I was a good dope boy, but because I was a scumbag. It was called chocolate chip, and it had heroin in it. I used to take that shit and go to class. I went so heavy into drugs that I had a bad trip one time that lasted for months.

via. Karen Civil

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Backstage Pass: Ludacris & Waka Flocka – Rich & Flexin

Behind the scenes of Ludacris and Waka Flocka’s, “Rich & Flexin.”Ludacris’ new mixtape, “1.21 Gigawatts,” releases November 15th.

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Tika Sumpter & Lala Anthony Channel ‘Thelma & Louise’ For Vibe

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Eva Marcille Vibe Shoot

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